The Gucci Garden is Once Again in Bloom
image via Vogue Runway
All of a sudden, there’s a Gucci I can get on board with.
All of a sudden, there’s a Gucci I can get on board with. Sabato has come along and completely reinvented Gucci, albeit in a subtle and subdued style but reinvented it nonetheless. Despite the new look being very casual and laid back, it is a huge change for the Kering-owned brand after their former creative director, Alessandro Michele’s, flamboyant take on the house.
Since Alessandro’s departure at Gucci (and now reinstatement at Valentino, which you can read about here), the house has taken on Sabato as lead. He was formerly a pattern-cutting assistant at Prada and more recently a director on Pierpaolo’s team at Valentino. The two brands are known for their exquisitely executed simplicity and perfection. It comes as no surprise then that Sabato’s take on Gucci is much along those lines but still manages to incorporate that classic Gucci flare. Similar motifs featured in this cruise show to what we see at Valentino such as bows, tassels and feathers, even styling choices like bombers over dresses seen in more recent Valentino shows.
This cruise show captured my eye. His previous 3 seasons for Gucci so far have been stunning yet simple. It slightly verging on safe even, yet undeniably wearable. This cruise show however had a bit more of a punch to it. A pastel-coloured punch perhaps as the show offered looks in muted pastel tones throughout.
Models wore easy day-to-day looks with a twist. Such as shorts and a blouse with a suede jacket but the shorts are essentially outdoor knickers (see look 2). We saw simple playsuits and dresses and even tops with jeans. Normally shows that send models down the runway in such easy outfits frustrate me. There’s nothing new in jeans and a nice top. What did you design exactly? However, there’s something about the way each piece is designed and styled that manages to let Sabato off the hook here. I can forgive you for sending a model down in jeans and a white shirt when it looks this good (see Look 10). Plus, pairing it with a ballet flat instantly puts you in my good books.
Look 25 - Image via Vogue Runway
One of my favourite pieces in the collection was the bomber jacket. Firstly, a good jacket is always a staple and usually does well with consumers as they aren’t trend pieces and you can get a lot of wear out of them for the money you’re paying. These ones especially are brilliant. The tie detail on the collar is fresh and modern, giving a casual yet almost workwear style. A real all-rounder of a piece. I love anything that’s a classic with a twist and this hits the nail on the head (see Look 25 above). Something else that stood out to me was the use of beading and tassels in the collection. They were so well used, they are in your face but subtly, I’m not even sure how that’s possible. Looks 17 and 18 (below) are the best examples of this. The dress in look 18 is so Prada inspired which I adore, the bustier at the top with this waterfall of beadwork in a check design cascading down the dress. Look 17 also uses this beading on a skirt and matching coat ensemble in what I can only describe as the most perfect shade of green.
Every look is so effortless yet desirable, which I think is what Gucci is in need of since Alessandro’s departure. I touched on this in my previous article but Alessandro’s Gucci was niche, you either loved it or loathed it. With that comes a cult group of people who adore the look and a very isolated group that ends up accidentally boycotting the brand altogether. Although Gucci’s sales did very well with Alessandro in the height of his time there, inevitably, even his fans got bored of the never-evolving rich grandma style and everyone outside that group has stopped shopping at Gucci anyway. That meant in the final years of his time at Gucci, sales plummeted. With Sabato’s Gucci however, there’s new hope that the brand will do well despite their huge 35% decrease in profit in recent years.
One thought I had while watching the show on repeat was “This is where Ganni should be at by now”. This is a total sidetrack thought but for me, Ganni in recent seasons has been offering the same long skirts and logo-emblazoned cardigans for too long. There seems to not be much evolution or change. I felt this show was slightly Ganni-coded in the sense that the girls who worship the brand would easily flock to Gucci stores to buy these clothes as they are similar but ultimately better. Just a thought, anyway...
Despite the new collections being safe, the large majority of people like wearable clothes and Sabato delivers that. My worry is, are people willing to spend the prices these clothes come at for something so simple? Yes, the outfit is beautiful but it’s nothing that we can’t recreate at a much cheaper price point. I buy secondhand designer pieces that have a twist, a reason for their high price. But what’s new here? Why shop at Gucci for jeans when I don’t have to? I’m intrigued to visit the Gucci store this week and see the clothing up close, of course, the design and materials are the reason for the cost but you’ll have to convince me that a look consisting of such simple pieces is worth that kind of money. Despite this, Sabato’s Gucci is desirable, chic and undeniably beautiful. I look forward to seeing what’s next for the brand and whether he can evolve in these paired-back restraints.
